Dermatology/permanent cure for freckles

QuestionHi,
I'm a 41 year old indian woman living in india. I have brown skin that isnít too dark. I'm considered fair by indian standards though not as fair as those Indians who have very pale skin that we call "milk white."

I have around 50 to 60 freckles [according to the doctor] on my chest and also a few red dots [cherry angioma] on my chest and back.

I googled and read various articles but am still unsure of the answers to my questions.

I consulted 2 cosmeticians. One said she could cauterize the red dots so they NEVER return, though new red dots could form in other places. She said there is no permanent cure for freckles.

The 2nd cosmetician said he would use either a CO2 laser or radio frequency all over my chest and on those few spots on my back. He said if I had only a very few blemishes he would have used a deep chemical peel but its unwise to use a deep peel all over the chest and part of the abdomen since the area is too great.

So he will use the above and then maybe another laser or peel to even up the skin. He said it would take only one session but since he says he may use another laser or peel to even up, I am guessing he foresees I may need 2 sessions and even foresees that my skin color or tone may be uneven after the first one? Is that how you read it too? Is that what you understand from what he said?

On top of that he said the results may last 4 to 10 years since I never expose my skin to the sun.

Both said the procedure would be somewhat painful.

I'm looking for something that can be done in ONE session and will last forever. IS THERE ANY SUCH THING?

Or at the most 2 sessions I guess. But it has to be permanent.

I'm also not keen on anything that may cause some discoloration or unevenness in skin tone so that I have to do another procedure to even THAT up.

The first doc did say cauterizing, which I suppose means burning the red spots off, will be permanent.

I donít know if she intended to use a deep chemical peel or something else to burn them off.

But I want something that will take off BOTH red dots and freckles. I see no point in removing only the spots, which are just a few anyway.

What would you recommend as the best procedures for me given my skin color and blemishes and what I am looking for?

IS IT FOR SURE THAT THE FRECKLES WILL RETURN SOME DAY AFTER A CO2 LASER OR RADIO FREQUENCY PROCEDURE?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Answer

First, before having any laser freckle removal performed, have your dermatologist determine if any of your spots are precancerous or cancerous. Unusual spots may indicate rare but serious disorders as well as skin cancer, so check with a dermatologist first. If your dermatologist determines the spots to be freckles and not harmful, laser treatment can proceed.

The best thing about freckles is that they are highly treatable with lasers. The treatment usually ends with a highly satisfactory result.

How it Works
A laser, such as a 532nm Nd:YAG KTP Q-Switched laser or Q-Switched Ruby laser, is passed over the area to be treated and the melanin pigment which makes up the freckles is removed by the laser light. Green laser light is particularly effective on brown spots and freckles.

The reason green light works so well at removing brown spots is because melanin pigment is designed to block short wavelengths of light, namely ultraviolet light which is shorter than any visible color of light. We have ultraviolet light, the next longer wavelength is purple then blue, green, yellow, orange, red, and then infrared which is invisible. So shorter wavelengths of light are more strongly picked up by melanin, thus you can use very low energies of green light to treat brown spots.